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Don’t lower standards for safety forces

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Wednesday March 26, 2014 5:00 AM

After serving Columbus residents for 30 years in the Columbus Fire Division, I feel compelled to
comment on the March 22
Dispatch article “Firm hired to recruit women, minorities.”

I agree there should be more women and minorities on the safety forces, but lowering the
standards to include former drug users and domestic-violence offenders is ridiculous. Does the
Columbus Civil Service Commission really think the residents of Columbus and the current safety
forces want to be served by and live and work with this type of person?

Would anyone like to live one-third of his or her life in the fire division with a person who
has a history of domestic violence?

A shift is 24 hours in close quarters and sometimes very stressful; how could one be sure this
person would not snap again? I am not qualified to speak for the Division of Police, but I can’t
imagine giving someone with a history of losing his or her temper a gun and authority.

Both safety forces are built on reliance on one’s partners, not former drug users and
domestic-violence offenders. I do agree that a former drug or alcohol addict deserves a second
chance, but maybe in another type of work.